US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Tuesday the dollar would keep its status as the world’s main reserve currency a “long time.”

Geithner, speaking to an investors conference in New York a day after the dollar hit a 14-month low against the euro, said: “The dollar will remain the principal reserve currency for a long time.”

The dollar has nosedived in recent months as investors turn away from the greenback, considered a safe haven amid economic uncertainty, amid a burgeoning recovery from a severe global slump.

The dollar’s status as the primary reserve currency has come under fire as it weakens, particularly from China, whose foreign exchange reserves surged to a global record of 2.27 trillion dollars at the end of September.